Caught
by mikotyzini
Summary: Working as a pickpocket, the number one rule is to not get caught - this is the mantra Blake lives by. It's led to a life of solitude where she struggles to maintain her morale grounds, but allows her to survive another day. But when a complete stranger unexpectedly changes her life, she learns that sometimes it's not so bad to be caught, after all.
1. Chapter 1

**This was a little idea I had - it was only supposed to be a short little thing, but ended up a little longer than that. **

**Don't worry, I'm still writing Red Carpet Romance! But I needed a little more angst in my life, apparently.**

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As another long workday drew to a close, the sidewalks grew flush with businessmen and women leaving their offices, issuing a collective sigh of relief to be free for the evening. Some were heading out to dinner or drinks with friends and coworkers, some were setting off to run errands, while most were on their way home to their families for the night.

But one thing was the same about every single one of them - they were in a hurry.

She walked amongst them with calculated slowness, being jostled every so often by a particular man or woman who was in more of a rush than the others. Sometimes they apologized; but most times they did not.

The rudeness, the constant hustle and bustle, the crowds...none of it bothered her in the slightest. After all, she was the only one who wasn't in a rush. She had nowhere else to be, but right here.

_This_ was her office - the evening streets of downtown Vale, teaming with the well-off men and women who staffed the towering buildings in the very heart of the city.

Veering inconspicuously to her right, she bumped elbows with an older gentleman talking rapidly into his scroll. She quickly raised her hand in apology for her mistake, a gesture he returned with a hasty wave before continuing his route away from her.

A few paces away, when she was certain she'd disappeared within the crowd of people once again, she opened the wallet within her hands - pulling out the Lien in the main fold before tossing the rest into the trashcan as she walked by.

The entire action took less than ten seconds and didn't even cause a break in her stride. She could feel that she had collected four bills from the wallet and would guess it was around forty Lien, but she would have to count it later.

People might think that with so many witnesses swimming nearby it would be incredibly difficult for her to do what she did, but the opposite was true. Nothing provided a veil of anonymity better than a mass of people intent on getting to their own destinations, reaching their own goals.

This was a pickpocket's heaven. A great lake where the fish were practically begging to be caught.

And while she wasn't the only 'fisherman' in the vicinity, she was one of the privileged few.

It wasn't exactly noble work, but finding legitimate work was extremely difficult for someone with her...background.

Well,_ finding_ a job wasn't as difficult as _keeping_ it. She had found that her bow would work for awhile, but, eventually, people became curious as to what was _under_ the bow. There had been several close calls and the last thing she needed was for people to find out who she truly was and spreading the information. If that happened, she could be blacklisted from ever getting a job again.

She didn't want to go back to the White Fang...and she couldn't hold a 'regular' job...so she did this.

While not ideal, it allowed her to keep living - to keep surviving another day. And maybe one day things would be different...at least, that's what she kept telling herself. There could be a day where she didn't think about what made her 'different,' what made her less valuable...

Even though her 'job' was unscrupulous, she still operated under her own personal code of conduct. She only took from those who had something to spare - businessmen, rich housewives, those who wouldn't miss a few Lien in their pockets. And she only stole enough to keep herself fed, pay her dues, and maintain a warm, dry place to sleep.

That at least allowed her to sleep at night.

Plus...and she hated to admit this...but she was really good at what she did. Her semblance went a long way in helping her disappear whenever she got into trouble and her natural ability to blend into the shadows had helped her out of more than a few jams. But it was her quickness and slight of hand which gave her an enormous advantage over any other petty thief.

Unfortunately, this month she was running a little...behind. The family living a few blocks from her, who were far less fortunate than she was, had had a medical emergency just last week. Their daughter, a friendly little girl who always waved to Blake when she saw her, had needed an emergency medical operation.

When Blake had learned that the family didn't have enough funds to pay for the surgery (up front, as the hospitals always demanded of 'their kind')...well, an anonymous donation had been slipped under their door in the middle of the night.

But there were consequences to every action, and this one was no different. It left her making up ground trying to scrounge up enough money to pay for her monthly...'thief license.'

And Cinder did not take kindly to being paid late or less than their agreed upon amount.

In a best case scenario, she would merely lose her location - being knocked down to one of the lower neighborhoods or further away from the city center. But she had a feeling that she wouldn't be so fortunate.

There was a reason Cinder had given her the downtown district - and that was because Blake was one of the most consistent thieves around. Cinder knew that she could count on Blake to provide a steady stream of cash while also not alerting the authorities to their presence in the area.

If the woman ever found out that Blake was holding back for her own morales...well...thankfully there was no way she'd ever find out.

"Excuse me, sir."

She ducked her head in apology, but he didn't even bother to glance her way.

Shaking her head, she repeated the process from earlier - grab the cash, dump the wallet, carry on.

The impersonal nature of these people never ceased to amaze her. She walked through this crowd daily, she made eye contact, said 'hello' even, and yet...not once had anyone ever stopped to talk to her.

It was a lonely life, sometimes...

"Sorry 'bout that," a gruff voice said after a tall man bumped into her side.

"It's no problem," she replied casually, accepting his apology even though she'd been the one to veer into his way at the last second.

He ended up only having one note in his wallet - a wasted effort on her part.

The evening was fully upon them now, with the sun dropping behind the tall skyscrapers and the sidewalks thinning out as the masses reached their next destinations and settled in for the night.

This was normally when she would call it quits and head home, herself. Lifting wallets became exponentially more difficult and risky when the crowds dispersed, since casually bumping into strangers would now be seen as out of the ordinary and suspicious.

Stepping off into the entryway of a downtown apartment building, she nonchalantly pulled out her collection of Lien from the evening. Counting it quickly, she stuck it back into her pocket with a sigh.

She was going to be short this month unless she somehow managed to find someone who had just made a substantial withdrawal from the bank. And since that was highly unlikely...well, she still had a little more time to at least make the gap a _little_ smaller before turning herself in to Cinder.

But in this type of environment, where the marks were growing fewer and further in between, she was going to need to take a bigger risk if she had any hope of making it _appear_ as if she'd been giving it her best effort this month.

Her eyes scanned the streets surrounding her - their amplified night vision allowing her to see clearly even in the weakening light. They were useful in times like these, but also a hindrance - nothing drew curiosity and suspicion faster than her moderately glowing eyes at night.

That's when a potential mark appeared - rushing down the sidewalk in front of her, passing Blake by without noticing her presence. The girl was about her age, with long, wavy blonde hair and nice looking clothes. There was potential for some money there, definitely - either a shopping trip unfulfilled or an expensive night out on the town.

She stepped out of the shadows behind the blonde, silently trailing the girl while sizing up this new opportunity.

The blonde was distracted, which was another plus - currently speaking on the phone while gesturing widely with her freehand. Best of all, Blake could already spot her wallet, sticking out of the girl's back pocket.

She picked up her pace until she was matching the girl's stride step-for-step from twenty yards behind. Like a predator stalking its prey, the blonde still had no idea she was even being followed.

"No, Ruby, I'm not going to do that!" the girl was saying. "Well I don't care what Weiss says - I'm not some charity case for her to set up with strangers."

In a split second, she made the decision to go for it.

Her feet broke into a run as she quickly approached the girl from behind. A run-by, that's what she was going to do - if she executed it perfectly, the blonde would never even feel the wallet leave her person.

She reached the girl in seconds and slid the wallet easily from the blonde's back pocket - one of the cleanest and quickest lifts she could remember. Smiling to herself, she didn't pause for a second - continuing at a run without so much as a glance backwards.

"Hey!"

Her feet instantly broke into a sprint at the yell, shocked that the girl had even realized what had happened. The lift had been completely clean - Blake hadn't even touched her.

But that wasn't the worst part of it. The footsteps rapidly hitting the pavement behind her told her that not only had the girl felt Blake steal her wallet, but she was now pursuing her.

Flying around the next corner, she hoped that her familiarity with the area could be used to her advantage. All of the best alleyways...hiding spots...all she needed to do was duck out of view for a second and she could lose the girl entirely.

But she quickly realized that something was wrong.

This wasn't some typical, run-of-the-mill glamor girl - afraid of breaking a nail or stubbing a toe.

No, this girl was fearless...and _fast._

Flipping the switch to high gear, she stretched her legs out to their full stride, trying to put some distance between her and her pursuer. But it was no use - she could still hear the pounding footsteps behind her, maintaining distance or even closing in.

Reaching an alleyway, she released one of her shadow clones - running straight ahead while she ducked to the right.

But the girl didn't fall for the fake - not even pausing for a split second. How did she…?

They were flying through a deserted alley now, the buildings hedging them in on both sides while their feet crunched against the loose pebbles on the pavement. There was another small alleyway cutting across up ahead - as soon as she reached it, she released another shadow clone in an effort to cause confusion.

No success - the girl was still right on her heels. Chiding herself for pickpocketing someone who was clearly in superb shape, she could feel her stamina beginning to wear out, fueled now only by the adrenaline of not wanting to get caught.

That's when she noticed the newly installed chain link fence at the end of the alley - blocking their path back to the main street beyond.

It was just what she needed.

This girl might be fast, but there was no way she could scale a ten foot fence as quickly as Blake could.

Pushing her legs harder, she tried to wring the last few drops of energy from her screaming muscles - preparing herself to leap upwards to pull herself overtop the fence. It would have to be fluid...flawless...or the girl would make it to the fence in time to grab ahold of her.

PHWOOSH

A ball of flame suddenly lit up the fence in front of her - the abrupt wave of heat sending her screeching to a halt. The footsteps also came to a stop behind her, realizing that with her lost momentum, Blake was now trapped.

Staring at the wire until the flames flickered out, she then hesitantly turned around to face her victim.

The girl was huffing nearly as much as Blake was after their sprint through the streets, and for just a brief moment, she could have sworn that the blonde's eyes were blood red. But after she blinked, she found that they were actually a beautiful shade of lilac.

Gorgeous would have been just one of many similar adjectives that could be used to describe the girl - although even that word seemed to be inadequate in capturing her true beauty.

As soon as their eyes connected, Blake felt a current of energy cut through the air between them. Taking a step backwards, the energy extended a little further towards her, clearly emanating from the figure standing in front of her.

She didn't say anything, waiting for the girl to speak first.

"I'm sorry - I didn't mean to scare you…"

The apology threw her into confusion immediately, wondering why someone she'd just stolen from was now being so considerate of _her_ feelings.

"I just...you can keep the wallet and the money, just..._please_ can I have the picture inside?"

The girl wasn't angry or upset...she was pleading with Blake, as if Blake was holding the very girl's life in her hands.

Blinking at the sudden change in dynamic, she flipped the wallet open in her hands - eyes flicking back to the blonde every half second to make sure this wasn't just some trick to divert her attention. Finding the aged, wrinkled photograph in the front of the wallet, she carefully pulled it out and looked at it closely.

On it were two little girls - one clearly the blonde standing in front of her, along with a smaller brunette. They were wrapped in the arms of a pretty older woman with similar brunette hair and a wide smile - her eyes a shimmering silver unlike any Blake had ever seen before, but clearly duplicated in her daughter. All three were grinning into the camera as if it was the best day of their lives.

Scrawled on the bottom corner of the photo in black ink were the words: "Me, Ruby, and Mom" written in a child's sloppy handwriting.

"It's the only picture I have of the three of us together…"

The words cut through her like a knife, now realizing why the girl had chased her so far - why she looked so afraid of letting Blake out of her sight.

It had nothing to do with losing money...and everything to do with losing this photo of her mom.

An overwhelming feeling of sympathy came over her at that moment. She didn't know who this girl was...a few seconds ago, the blonde had merely been another stranger in a city filled with them. But now...with this photograph held in her hands...and the staticky energy pulsating from the blonde's aura...she could feel herself being drawn in.

She knew what it was like, to lose a parent. And she too had a treasured possession...the most important thing to her in the world - Gambol Shroud. It had been her mother's...and Blake had trained herself with the weapon until she could consider herself to be a master - the sword and sheath singing to her when in her hands. If someone stole Gambol from her...she would chase down thieves or murderers or psychopaths without batting an eye in order to get it back.

Stuffing the photo back into the wallet, she tossed it to the girl. While the blonde was focused on catching the item, Blake sprinted past her, taking the next corner and using her last burst of energy to throw clones in every direction while she scaled the nearest fire escape.

"Hey wait!"

Hiding herself in the shadows of the second story of an apartment building, she held her breath as the blonde ran back into view. The girl paused at the intersection of the two alleyways, eyes searching in all directions for any sight of her.

Freezing her muscles and slowing her breathing to an almost unbearably slow pace, her heart pounded loudly while waiting for the blonde to give up her search.

And, eventually, the girl did give up. Letting out a loud sigh and throwing one last glance towards the chain link fence, the blonde ducked her head and slowly walked out of the alley - headed back the way they had come.

Blake watched intently as the girl walked almost directly underneath her feet - not noticing her amber eyes peering out from the shadows.

Her mind was reeling from recent events - the chase...the fire...the lilac eyes and photo of a stranger's family...somehow these things had caused her to make a decision based upon feeling, rather than logic.

Rational thinking under pressure was one of her strong suits...or so she had thought. But, for some reason, that girl made her feel flustered and emotional. It was inexplicable and unnerving.

A glance at the time told her that she was about to miss her deadline to meet Cinder and hand over what money she'd managed to scrape together. With a sigh, she jumped down from the fire escape and made her own way back to the main road.

She would accept whatever consequences there may be for her actions. This would be the first time she missed a minimum cut, so it would hopefully be a reasonable punishment.

Her thoughts should have been focused on what she would say to Cinder...but instead, they kept drifting back to the blonde she had just 'met' and the energy that seemed to exist between them.

Of course, that was just her foolish thinking - another likely side effect of all the worn out romance novels she rented from the libraries to pass her time alone.

But the girl with the lilac eyes was meant for the world of Vale - she would walk amongst the throngs of people and receive stares of admiration for her beauty.

And Blake...well, she could receive stares too, but not the kind people normally want to receive.

It might be nice to dream about, but she couldn't give in to that romantic side of her. People like that didn't exist for people like her.


	2. Chapter 2

Another beautiful day in Vale was coming to a close - another lucrative day at the 'office' for Blake, as well.

She enjoyed the warm weather - and not just because it was nicer to walk outside when it was sunny out, but also because it meant more people opted to walk home from work rather than take the buses, trains, or their own vehicles. The increase in foot traffic gave her an additional cloak of invisibility that made her feel nearly invincible while walking through throngs of workers.

It certainly helped when she was operating with a slight handicap as she'd been the past few weeks. The swelling in her hand had gone down considerably though...and she'd almost regained full movement in the two fingers that had found themselves the unfortunate subjects of a vicious foot stomp recently.

Thankfully, Cinder had been insightful enough to choose Blake's left hand - still allowing her to be fully operational with her dominant right arm. The woman was awfully efficient when trying to wring as much money out of her criminals as possible…

But, she was thankful that she'd escaped without any broken bones. And even though it was moderately annoying to always use her right hand to snatch wallets, it was more of a minor inconvenience to her than a hindrance.

"Excuse me."

Feeling soft, worn leather touch her fingertips, she swung her hand fluidly behind her while turning around to give the man a friendly smile and wave. He hardly grunted in response, already nearly five feet past her.

Sometimes she wished that someone would show her a little more notice, maybe strike up a conversation with her or...something. Life as a thief could be lonely, especially when trying to maintain a certain level of moral compass at the same time. It was difficult and some days she felt a lot more alone than others - today being one of those days.

It left her with a craving for a feeling she hadn't stopped dreaming about the past few weeks - that electric current that had charged through her veins, the rapid fluttering of her heart when the two of them had locked eyes. It had been unlike anything she'd ever felt before...and it had somehow left a void in her that hadn't existed before.

But it was no use to keep pining after a girl she had only met for a fraction of a moment - at least, that's what she kept telling herself, to little avail. Her eyes subconsciously double-checked every blonde figure she walked past - her heart doing a somersault when she spotted blonde hair with a gentle wave.

Her reactions were unnecessary, since she knew the chances of the two of them meeting again lay somewhere between slim and impossible. Plus, even if Blake were to find her, what would happen? The girl would only remember her as the one who had tried to rob her; she would probably call the police.

That is, if she even remembered Blake at all...

"Oh, sorry!" she said to the shorter gentleman in a suit she'd just bumped into. She gave him a friendly smile while gently straightening his sleeve where she had just wrinkled it.

"That's quite alright," he responded with a smile of his own before hurrying away from her, in a rush to get somewhere.

Once she was a safe distance away, she pulled the cash out of the two wallets she had collected and ditched the evidence slyly in some neatly trimmed hedges planted near an upscale office building.

She didn't throw the wallets into trash cans anymore - preferring to toss them into hedges, under benches, under parked vehicles...in the hopes that someone else would find them and return them to the owner.

After all, she never knew when there might be a treasured possession inside.

Glancing around, she noticed several uniformed Vale police officers standing nearby. In their navy blue uniforms, they were easy to spot amongst the sea of black and charcoal gray.

Their presence granted her the perfect excuse to take a break for a few moments. Making her way away from the crowds, she climbed up the fire escape of a nearby office building that appeared to be abandoned by this time in the afternoon. 'Schnee Dust' the sign on the side of the building read - the same company that owned that gigantic tower in the very center of Vale. This must be one of their ancillary offices or something…

Either way, like every other building in Vale, they left the bottom of their fire escape way too close to the ground. Blake could easily make the jump to pull herself up onto the platform and climb to the second story.

She liked to use fire escapes like this to make her way to the rooftops - where it was impossible for people to spot her while she took a quick cat nap.

Feet padding softly against the metal steps, she made her way up to the roof, but when she set foot on the landing of the third floor, she could suddenly make out the muffled sound of voices.

Flattening herself to the wall of the building, she carefully peeked inside, searching for the source of the sound. She found herself looking sideways into a large office, a large wooden desk placed to her left while the exit from the room was to the right.

Standing a few paces in front of the desk were two girls who looked about her age, both of them slowly backing away from the other pair in the room.

A frown crossed her face when she recognized Emerald and Mercury - two of Cinder's closest lackies and devoted followers. The two always operated as a pair and happened to be particularly notorious due to their position as Cinder's right hand men - the executioners to Cinder's gavel. That status alone allowed them to operate a little more freely amongst Vale, getting away with crimes that were more heinous than most.

And, unfortunately for these particular girls, Emerald had an insatiable appetite for violence.

"We don't have what you're looking for, so leave us alone!"

One of the girls, a brunette, was standing in front of the other, arm held out to the side as she tried to guard the white haired girl behind her. Blake bit her lip at the sight, knowing that when Emerald was in the right mood, even complying with what she asked for wouldn't be good enough. In fact, doing that might actually make it worse. Especially once she pulled out her dual scythes...like she had just done.

The curved blades were sinister in appearance, and Emerald wielded them with deadly precision. The greenish metal they were made of always glistened in the light, as if the weapons were still slick with blood.

She detested Emerald and Mercury - and the people like them. Wanton violence...causing someone harm just because they could...it didn't sit well with her. But what could she do in this situation? Emerald and Mercury were protected by the same code that protected Blake from them - they all fell under Cinder's 'rule,' and were not to attack each other or meddle in the others' affairs. Why the two had broken into an office building was none of Blake's business, nor did she even want to know.

"Oh...I _love_ it when they try to lie…"

Emerald's voice was enough to make her decide to leave. She would call the cops when she got away from here - and hopefully Emerald wouldn't go _too_ overboard this time…

"Ruby, don't!"

The name froze her in place, eyes shooting back to the scene unfolding in front of her. She focused her attention more intently upon the brunette.

The girl was older...had grown into her features quite a bit, but the brunette hair and...silver eyes.

It was the same girl. The little girl from the photograph.

She didn't use more than a second before she reacted to the new information. Just as Emerald was advancing upon the two girls, with Mercury watching smugly from behind, Blake backed up a few steps and threw herself into the window shoulder first.

The sound of glass shattering filled her ears as she crashed to the floor of the office with what felt like hundreds of needles jabbing into her skin. Quickly rolling to her feet, Emerald was still frozen in temporary shock from what had just happened - her brain trying to process the unexpected newcomer to the room. Thankfully, that fraction of a second was all it took for the girl to be too slow to dodge Blake as she crashed into the girl at full speed.

She heard the blades drop to the floor nearby and prayed that the two girls would either pick them up, run, or _something_ \- preferably something that would get all three of them out of this alive.

Emerald's earlier surprise was now completely gone - replaced by pure rage and anger. She clasped a hand around each of Emerald's wrists, but the girl was surprising strong and Blake's left hand particularly weak. A boot landed in her side, crushing the wind from her lungs as she flew to the side, forcibly separating her from restraining the enraged girl.

Mercury advanced on her quickly, only to find himself suddenly standing inside a white glyph glowing upon the ground. The next second, the boy was flying backwards through the air - crashing into the wall beside the office door.

By now, Emerald had scrambled back to her feet. Growling at Blake, her eyes flicked to the side for an instant, locating her weapons still laying upon the ground. But as soon as she reached down for them, a short burst of forceful air blew past them and the weapons had disappeared.

"Leave. Now!"

They both turned at the order, finding the brunette now holding the blades uncomfortably out in front of her. The girl with white hair was also holding a weapon she had retrieved from somewhere - a long, silver rapier that she held with tremendous confidence and skill.

Taking one look at the new situation, Emerald smartly began retreating towards her partner, who was now back on his feet. The two of them disappeared through the doorway an instant later, but not before Emerald gave Blake a sneer.

The girl obviously knew exactly who Blake was...it had been her heel that had smashed Blake's fingers, after all.

Silence followed as the fight suddenly left the room, but she could feel even more adrenaline pumping into her veins. Holding one hand to her side, she crouched over slightly to ease the pain in her ribs from Mercury's kick. That's when she noticed some of the little cuts that were dotting her arm from her trip through the window.

But her wounds were the least of her concerns right now.

Emerald would tell Cinder right away what Blake had done - attacking a fellow crook on a regular day carried very harsh punishments. Attacking Emerald and Mercury...well, apparently she had a death wish. Even if Cinder showed her mercy, those two wouldn't.

But first, she turned back to the two girls, who were both watching her intently.

"Are you ok?" she asked, voice strained under the weight of many emotions.

When they both nodded their heads confirming they were unharmed, she turned and started hobbling away, knowing that she needed to put as much distance between herself and this place as soon as possible.

"Wait!"

She turned back to look at the brunette.

"Are _you_ going to be ok?"

The girl gestured towards Blake's injuries, clearly concerned for her wellbeing.

"I'll be just fine," she answered, trying to force a small smile to reassure the girl - even though the girl with white hair was still eyeing her skeptically. Knowing that she needed to leave as quickly as possible, she turned back towards the window in order to take the fire escape back down to the street.

"Why did you help us?"

Why did she help them? That was a good question indeed. Because it certainly did her no good to be on Cinder's bad side - it did her even less good to be on Emerald's hit list.

"I know your sister," was all she said as she pulled herself carefully through the broken glass of the window and high tailed it away from that place.

"Yang?" came the puzzled question from behind her as she took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the pain in her side.

But even in her adrenaline fueled panic, she could still hear the name reverberating through her head.

Yang.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm glad everyone's enjoying this story! Thanks for the follows and reviews - I love hearing from you guys!**

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It's strange how the years can pass by and so much changes...yet so much stays the same.

After grabbing her few possessions on that fateful day two years ago, she'd jumped on the next bus headed to the opposite side of town. She knew the reaches of Cinder's territory - and knew how far away she needed to be in order to sleep at night.

Over time, she'd been able to reestablish a meager home for herself and grow more comfortable in her new surroundings.

The sight of emerald green hair still made her duck into the nearest alcove, but for the most part she'd settled into her new life on this side of town. She was still picking up wallets to survive, but the terrain was much more difficult in these neighborhoods.

Without Cinder's dictatorial rule, there was little protection offered against other petty criminals such as herself. She'd already had several run-ins with other thieves, who had told her nicely to stay off of _their_ turf. The best pickpocket grounds were ferociously fought over - both to protect or to steal away from someone else.

There was also less prosperity in these parts, making the pickings slim and her targets more...victims than unfortunate bystanders. A businessman could recoup what she stole over a course of a few days, but she might swipe someone's monthly income unwittingly in this area.

The pedestrians were also more street savvy to the crimes occurring around them - the risk in every lift increasing substantially. These people weren't oblivious to criminals hiding in plain view, and were prepared to fight for what was theirs.

But this was the new life she was forced to lead, and she did it everyday the best she could - straddling the line between good and evil like a tightrope walker.

Her mind drifted to the blonde far more often than she'd care to admit. Yang...at least now she had a name to attach to her obsession. She knew that the girl had long since forgotten about her, but, for some reason, she couldn't seem to get the blonde out of her mind.

But she couldn't think about that right now - she had a job to do.

She'd been tailing her current mark for the past couple minutes, trying to decide if the man was actually as clueless as he appeared to be. He looked rather lost, which was exactly what he should try not to look like if he wanted to make it out of this area with all of his possessions.

Making the decision to go for it, she broke into a sprint - closing the gap between them in seconds. Slamming into his side, she nearly knocked him over while her hand latched onto the wallet he still (fortunately for her) had in his coat pocket. Without stopping, she was continuing down the road at full speed.

"Hey, stop! Police!"

The shout from behind her shot a jolt of adrenaline through her veins. She hadn't seen a police officer anywhere - where had they been hiding?

Before she had time to chastise herself, instincts took over - she didn't flinch at the sound of footsteps running behind her as she sprinted around the corner and made her way towards the nearest side street to lose her pursuer.

The narrow roads in this area were to her advantage, unlike the wider streets and avenues of downtown. The passageways were all built more like alleys - the dirty buildings tucked close together with dumpsters and street stands cluttered everywhere. With her agility, it was much easier to slip away from pursuers in such an environment.

As she raced between the buildings, heading into more and more sparsely populated areas, she was surprised when the footsteps behind her didn't fade away. They seemed to be keeping pace with her and refused to fall behind no matter how many obstacles she hurdled flawlessly to create distance.

Altering her route to loop back towards a crowded area where she could disappear into a crowd, she began throwing out her shadow clones in order to cause confusion - being careful not to use them too often and burn out her limited stores of energy.

Skidding around the next corner and taking the immediate hairpin turn into an alley, she was already halfway to the end when she noticed the mammoth garbage truck parked at the other end - completely blocking the exit.

Hearing the pounding footsteps enter the alley after her, she narrowed her eyes and charged forward. She could scale a garbage truck easily with enough momentum.

"Stop!"

The order shouted from behind only spurred her on. Her legs screamed from exertion as she propelled herself towards the truck, eyes scanning the vehicle and picking out the best place to plant her foot.

An overwhelming sense of deja vu came over her at that instant - and she was already sliding to a stop when she felt the wave of heat rush past her head and smash into the metal wall in front of her.

Spinning around, she found herself face-to-face with the girl she had dreamt about for the past few years…

The girl hadn't changed much - same long, blonde hair...expressive lilac eyes...friendly aura... Only now the blonde was wearing a navy blue and gold police uniform - a shiny golden shield pinned over her chest.

She looked...really, really attractive.

"You."

The word was nothing more than a whisper, Yang's eyes looking just as stunned as Blake's must. They both stared at each other for several long moments, breathing heavily while trying to recover from their race through the streets.

How could...how could this be happening? A cop? Of all the ways she'd imagined meeting the girl again, this had never been thought of even once.

"A-are you going to arrest me?" she finally asked, finding her voice nearly failing in the girl's presence, while confused thoughts continued to race through her head.

"Arrest you?" Yang asked incredulously, chuckling as if it were an absurd question before her expression turned a little more serious.

"You saved my sister's life...and her girlfriend's...but then you just disappeared. I've been looking for you...for the past two years I've been searching for you. I became a cop just so I could have a better chance of finding you."

The words registered in Blake's mind, but they failed to make any sense. All this time...she had _known_ that the girl had forgotten about her, but...

"Why didn't you stick around after...why did you run away? Weiss is really wealthy - she would have given you a huge reward -"

"I didn't help for a reward," she quickly answered, thankfully finding her voice. "I helped because -"

_I helped because she's your sister._

"Because Emerald can get out of control sometimes…" she finished in a mumble, feeling her face flush ever so slightly at what she had nearly just admitted.

There was no reason to confess her hopeless obsession to a stranger.

Yang stared at her, eyes thoughtful while she weighed the words Blake had just said. The blonde didn't believe her, Blake could see that, but she shook her head anyway.

"Well no, I'm not going to arrest you. I'd like to -"

"Officer Xiao Long!"

The shout broke Yang's words as two soldiers careened around the corner and rushed into the alleyway. "Are you in need of assistance?"

The two men rushed towards them, their clunky suits of armor creating a ruckus that echoed off the nearby walls, before coming to a halt beside the blonde - postures aggressive and ready for trouble. Blake instinctively took a step backwards, but paused when Yang held up a hand in an effort to stop her.

"I'm fine," the girl spoke in an authoritative tone, "Just catching up with an old friend. You two can carry on to the next checkpoint without me."

The two soldiers looked at each other for a moment before nodding their heads and turning back the way they'd come. They might have been curious, but they'd clearly been dismissed and must have known better than to argue with direct orders.

They both watched the men until they were out of sight, when Yang sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry about that - they're a little protective sometimes."

"Like guard dogs," Blake commented.

"_Exactly_ like guard dogs!" Yang said with a small laugh, her features lighting up in amusement. "But they can be really useful, so I guess I really shouldn't complain."

A small moment of silence followed, which was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable for her. She wanted to know what Yang had been about to say before they'd been interrupted, but found she didn't have the nerve to ask.

Fortunately, Yang hadn't forgotten where they'd been in their conversation.

"Anyway, I was going to ask...if you'd have dinner with me."

"Dinner?" she sputtered, the question catching her completely off guard. But Yang just smiled at her, completely certain about her request.

"Well, I'd ask you to marry me, but I figure that could be a reach. So, dinner?"

"But...I stole your wallet."

"_Technically_, you didn't - you gave it back to me, remember?"

"I steal _other_ people's money."

Yang just laughed.

"Well, there is that, isn't there? But...I have a feeling you wouldn't be doing that if you didn't have to be."

She'd quickly run out of excuses. Well, except for one - the one secret that was certainly a deal breaker.

"You don't know who I really am."

She tried to put some emphasis behind her words, but Yang didn't seem to take them very seriously.

"That would be the point of dinner! To _get_ to know you."

"No - I mean...you don't know…"

Sighing, she didn't know exactly how she should break this news. Deciding upon the bandaid approach, she reached up and untied her bow. Unused ribbon held between her fingers, she allowed her arms to drop back to her side in defeat.

" - who I am…"

Yang looked from her eyes to the top of her head and back again - but there was no shock, no disgust in those lilac eyes. Instead, there was only a bit of...confusion.

"Who…" Yang began to say, as if speaking out loud would solve the puzzle. Suddenly, her eyes widened with comprehension.

"Oh _those!_ Well I already knew about that!"

Now it was Blake's turn to be confused.

"You…?"

"You're talking about being an...'undesirable', right?" the girl continued, waving one hand dismissively through the air and wrinkling her nose at the offensive term that was most commonly applied to Blake's race. "That's silly - because you're plenty _desirable_ to me."

She stared at the girl, who was beaming with pride at her play on words.

"Are you...flirting with me?"

Her voice came out squeaky and high pitched - certainly not cool or suave under this type of pressure.

"Well, I was _trying_ to," the blonde replied with a laugh. "Obviously not very successfully…"

She felt her face flushing. It's not like she'd never been hit on before - she had...but mostly by creepy guys who would catcall at her while she was working. Never by someone who she actually found to be attractive, and certainly never by anyone who had seen her without her bow.

"I've known since the day we met. Your bow slipped off a bit while I was chasing you," the girl explained.

"Then why…?"

Why continue to try to find her? Why go through all the trouble to join the police force? Why not just forget about her, as the world preferred to do?

"Because I don't care about that. I never have."

She was telling the truth - Blake could see the honestly shining through her eyes. All along, the girl had known exactly who Blake was - all her 'flaws' - and the blonde had still searched for her.

And here Blake had spent years dreaming about the girl, but had never once thought to try to find her.

"So...dinner?"

There was just too much to process right now. So much information...so many emotions...her brain was overloading from it all.

How had Yang turned out to be like this? All the time she'd spent pining over the blonde, imagining what it would be like to hold a conversation together. She'd thought about how she would tell Yang about her heritage - picturing the girl storming off in anger, only to return later and apologize, saying that she loved Blake too much to let this stand between them.

But this…

"Maybe," she answered instead. "I just...need time to think about it."

It was as honest of an answer as she could provide. Going to dinner with a police officer...spending _any_ time with a police officer...it wasn't exactly something she'd ever considered before.

She hadn't really be expecting to go to dinner with the girl of her dreams, either.

Even though it wasn't the answer Yang had been hoping for, the girl refused to give up.

"Will you at least tell me your name?"

Her name...her name was her most closely guarded possession. If someone knew her true identity...well then they already knew too much about her.

But determined to leave Yang with something, she took a few steps forward, feeling light-headed when she neared the girl. From this distance, she could see the flecks of color in Yang's eyes, the faint freckles threatening to break out on her nose and cheeks, the small tuft of downy blonde hair that seemed to resist falling in the same direction as its friends.

Daring to lean in a little closer, she raised one shaking hand and rested it lightly upon a sturdy shoulder.

"Blake," she whispered softly, before quickly retreating and walking away at a quick pace.

Her heart was beating wildly in her ears while making her hasty retreat - needing to put some distance between herself and the blonde before her heart melted entirely.

Turning the corner out of the alley, she didn't try to hide the grin on her face while tossing the girl's badge up in the air, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of the weight in her hand.

Only when she was a few blocks away did she pause to open it up - finding a shiny metal shield with "Officer Xiao Long" written on it staring back at her.

Yang Xiao Long...it had a nice ring to it.

Just as she was about to slip the item into her pocket, her eyes caught sight of a small piece of paper poking up from behind the shield. Delicately pulling it out, she found it was a short note written on a tiny scrap of paper.

"_To the girl who refused to steal my wallet and consequently stole my heart - I don't know who you are, but I will find you again one day. I can promise you that. And I know that when I do, you're going to take this from me one more time."_

She groaned when she saw what was caught behind the note - the picture of Yang, Ruby, and their mother - the treasured possession once again in her grasp.

Finding the nearest call station, she jammed some money in and dialed the number scrawled at the end of the note.

"Hello?"

The sound of the girl's voice was enough to send her pulse skyrocketing again.

"I think I...found...something that belongs to you," she replied cagily - unsure if Yang would be upset at her or not.

But a laugh came through the other end of the phone - the sound bringing a smile instantly to Blake's face.

"Might you have found it in my back pocket?"

"...maybe...you know, you really shouldn't keep things in your back pockets - it's like a magnet for thieves."

"I know."

A few seconds of silence passed - Blake felt her smile widen at the implication of Yang's words - until a cough at the other end of the line ended the moment.

"So maybe you can give it back to me at dinner...tonight?"

She bit her lip - thinking of how many times she'd dreamt about this girl - how her heart had leapt whenever she'd seen someone with similar blonde hair - how she'd wished for one more chance to make a good impression.

And now Yang was there...within her grasp. All she had to do was reach out and take the opportunity, let go of all the excuses that held her back.

"Where should I meet you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter! Because...why not? Happy Sunday!**

* * *

Moving around her tiny apartment, Blake searched through her very limited selection of possessions in an effort to find something appropriate to wear to dinner. She didn't exactly own many outfits...and what she did own was designed solely to help her blend into her environments, not go on dates.

But she couldn't go wrong with a pair of blue jeans and a button-up top, right?

She still couldn't understand what had happened today - it was something out of a fairy tale. All that time she'd spent thinking about Yang, the girl had been joining the police academy in an effort to track Blake down.

It almost made her feel guilty that she hadn't put more effort into finding the girl...but at least now she had an opportunity to make it up to Yang - even though the idea of going on a date with a police officer seemed wrong in so many ways. She spent most of her days trying to _avoid_ the uniforms, not eat dinner with them.

Date...the word made her inexplicably nervous. She hadn't been on a date in...well, ever.

Checking her reflection in the small mirror above the bathroom sink, she decided that she looked presentable enough to venture outside.

The restaurant was a little far, but after a combination of buses and walking, she made it there right on time. And if her heart hadn't already been racing, seeing Yang standing in front of the doors certainly would have accomplished that feat.

She didn't know why she had been expecting Yang to still be wearing her police uniform...the girl was clearly off duty - dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a flattering black top. But even more beautiful than the girl's outfit was the way her face lit up when she caught sight of Blake - a huge smile reaching all the way up to her eyes.

"Hey, stranger," the girl called out as Blake came to a stop in front of her.

"Hello again," she returned the greeting, "I have something for you."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the blonde's badge and handed it to the girl - who promptly stuck it in her back pocket with a wink.

"Did you have any fun with it?" Yang asked mischieviously. "Like fake arrest people? Threaten to throw them in jail?"

She blinked at the jovial suggestion to abuse the girl's badge.

"N-no, I just...held onto it…"

"Ah well, there's always next time! Shall we eat?"

Extending an elbow, Yang nodded her head towards the front doors. Blake flushed as she accepted the gesture, awkwardly looping her own arm through Yang's.

When they stepped inside, the first thing she noticed was that they were both pretty underdressed for the classy establishment. It made sense that Blake was underdressed...but Yang had made the suggestion - she must have known the appropriate dress code, so why had she worn something so casual?

"Officer Xiao Long!" the host greeted them excitedly. "Miss Schnee told me you would be right on time - I already have your table ready. Right this way."

Without even pausing in the entryway, they were whisked back into the crowded main room and seated at a small square table. The host pulled out Blake's chair, which she quietly thanked him for before sitting down.

It wasn't too loud in here, but the presence of so many other people made her nervous when she was stationary - especially when she was seated in the midst of them. It was one thing to walk amongst a crowd, invisible, but she clearly wasn't invisible in this establishment.

But she did her best to push down her instinct to escape and focused her attention across the table instead.

"Honestly...I'm surprised you actually showed up," Yang said, leaning slightly forward against the table, eyes clear and true. "I was half expecting to be stood up and have to eat at Weiss' fancy restaurant by myself."

"Well, I might have, but...I know how much that picture means to you," she admitted, flushing when she thought of all the _other_ reasons why she'd shown up.

The blonde didn't catch on though, letting out a soft 'whoop' of excitement and saying, "Thank you, mom!" to the ceiling above them.

Blake laughed at the action, which instantly drew Yang's eyes back to her own.

"You're really pretty when you laugh."

The compliment immediately shut off her laughter as she blushed scarlet red. She didn't even know...what was she supposed to say to that?

Thankfully, Yang coughed lightly - seeming a little embarrassed herself at what she'd just said - and changed the subject.

"So, let's get the _really_ awkward part out of the way first. I'm supposed to give this to you - actually, I've been ordered to give this to you."

Yang pulled a small, folded piece of paper out of her pocket and passed it across the table to her. After looking at it curiously, she picked it up and unfolded it so she could see what it was.

She immediately slammed it back down and slid it back to Yang.

"No - there's no way I can accept this," she said firmly, shaking her head in emphasis.

Yang laughed at her emphatic response, but made no move to reclaim the item.

"I told her you would say that…" she replied before pulling out an identical slip of paper and placing it down beside the first.

Curiosity got the better of her and she leaned forward to find that it was, in fact, an identical check to the first.

Two million Lien lying on the table...made payable to her.

"I can't -"

"Believe me, accepting these will be the easiest way out of this. Weiss doesn't take kindly to being turned down - she'll resort to much more creative means of getting you this amount and _then_ some."

"But...that's _way_ too much money," she tried to reason.

It was more money than she could have ever imagined. It was buy a beach house and retire money. It was never steal again money.

"Well you see…" Yang began, casually nudging the two checks across the table towards her again, "Weiss kinda _highly_ values Ruby's life - far more than even her own. I'm not suggesting they can't protect themselves - they're usually pretty good at that - but from what I heard, you gave them a huge advantage when they were caught unprepared."

"I really didn't do anything _that_ magnificent…"

"Didn't you jump through a window?"

"Well, yeah…"

"And tackle a crazy girl holding crazy scary blades?"

"Kind of, but -"

"And then get pummeled in the ribs?"

She flinched at the memory of Mercury's kick. Sometimes she could still feel his boot in her chest - as if one of her ribs was permanently bruised from the blow.

"I helped, but not _that_ much," she concluded, nodding her head towards the discarded checks on the table.

Giving up, Yang quickly scooped them up and placed them back in her pocket.

"Ok, we're going to revisit these later," she said with a grin, clearly expecting to win this argument at that time. "But why don't we order now? I'm starving!"

Still stunned from the amount of money that was being offered to her, she followed Yang's lead and opened up the menu that had been sitting in front of her. As she was reading through the appetizers, a young man tripped while walking past their table - catching himself by placing a hand on Blake's leg.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed while pushing himself back to his feet in a hurry. "Really sorry about that!"

Blake just stared while he sauntered back to his table, feeling alarm bells ringing in her head while her heart rate went bezerk.

Had he really just tried to pickpocket her here in the middle of a restaurant? And out of the blue? What type of thief had the audacity to try that trick?

He'd picked the wrong pocket, too…which only convinced her that he was likely an amateur. But he was sitting with another potential pickpocket - and they seemed to be making an awful lot of eye contact with another table of two on the other side of the room.

"Blake?"

Yang's voice brought her attention back to the blonde, realizing that she'd been staring a little too intently for the past few moments.

"Yeah? Sorry, could you repeat that?" she tried to say nonchalantly, feeling her eyes drift back to the other table when she saw one of the thieves get up to make their way towards the restrooms.

Just as she suspected, the young girl grabbed an item out of an old man's coat that was hanging on the back of his chair before walking out of the room.

Amateurs - they were clearly amateurs...using the restaurant as a practice ground. It was the perfect place - high class, so the people here would never expect a thief to be dining amongst them. When they went to pay for their meal, they would think they'd left their wallet at home on accident - and rush home just to check.

There was nothing better than a victim who would literally hasten _away_ from the scene of the crime. By the time they might return, the thief would be long gone.

Should she tell Yang? What would the blonde do - would she go arrest them? But why would she arrest them, when she wasn't arresting Blake? They were doing the same thing as Blake, after all - they were just dumb enough to get caught. Although...Yang had caught her twice now too.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah - I'm fine, it's just…not used to being in nice places, I guess," she answered with a wavering smile, fidgeting under Yang's gaze - which was steadily filling with an increasing amount of concern.

The girl thought for a second before nodding her head and standing up.

"You're right - this place is way too stuffy," she said, grabbing Blake's hand off the table and pulling her up from her chair and back outside. "Last time I take Weiss' suggestion for restaurants…"

Even though the abrupt change of events was surprising, she had to admit that the cool nighttime air felt welcome against her skin. Free from the proximity with the other thieves, she could feel her pulse returning to a more normal rate.

"So why don't you pick where you want to eat?" Yang asked, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet on the sidewalk. "What would you get if you were spoiling yourself?"

Blake didn't have to think for more than a half second before grinning when the perfect place popped into her head. It certainly wasn't anywhere near as ritzy as the restaurant they had just been at, but the food was great.

She didn't drop Yang's hand, finding the contact to be exhilarating in a completely foreign way as she led Yang through the familiar streets - her old stomping grounds. A few minutes later, their destination came into view - parked on the side of the street.

"A...taco truck?"

She couldn't help but laugh at Yang's confused response while they neared the light blue and green painted vehicle.

"Not just _any_ tacos - fish tacos!" she announced, feeling her own excitement growing when the familiar smell reached her nostrils.

She took a giant whiff of the fishified air, squeezing Yang's hand tightly in happiness. She hadn't been here in _so_ _long_ \- and it was her all time favorite place to eat.

Yang laughed, most likely amused by Blake's eagerness in dragging them to the front window to order.

"Alright - order what you normally get and then double it for me," the girl instructed. "And don't even think about paying - dinner's on me tonight. But with your millions, you can pick up the next one."

Blake blushed while quickly placing the order she knew by heart, but not because of Yang's reference to the money.

The blonde had said Blake could pay for the next dinner...a second date.

Loaded with a variety of fish tacos minutes later, they sat down to eat at one of the little plastic benches nearby. It was a bit messy to eat without a table, but Blake hardly noticed anything besides the tacos in her hands.

Well, the tacos and the noises Yang was making while eating them.

"Ohhh my goddd - Blake, these are amazing!"

She took another bite of her own taco, thinking that her face might just remain permanently flushed by this point. Her cheeks certainly couldn't get any redder.

"Best idea ever," Yang added before diving into her second taco.

"Glad you like them," she responded with a smile. "But you might want to actually breathe in between bites."

The blonde giggled and swallowed the huge bite that had been in her mouth.

"Don't worry, I can hold my breath for a _really_ long time," the girl boasted before happily taking another monster bite.

Shaking her head, Blake focused her attention back on her own tacos - which were even more amazing than she'd remembered them.

After consuming far more food than they probably should have, the two of them sat uncomfortably on the plastic bench.

"Ughhh...I shouldn't have eaten that last one…" Yang groaned, holding her stomach pitifully, "But it was just toooo gooood…"

She laughed, but cut it short when her stomach protested at the use of her abdominal muscles.

"Do you want to walk off our dinner?" she suggested, gesturing towards the giant skyscrapers framing the sky above Vale.

When Yang nodded her head, Blake stood up and reached down to help pull Yang to her feet. The blonde let out another loud groan on the way up, before turning towards downtown to begin their trek.

They walked for a few moments in a peaceful silence, gazing around them at the sights there were to see. Yang casually slipped her hand back into Blake's, which only made the experience that much more enjoyable.

She'd never noticed before...but this area of Vale was actually quite beautiful when the sun had fallen from the sky. The streetlamps provided a nice yellow glow to walk by and the restaurants and evening clubs were all filled with people making the most of the end of their day. There was a vibrant, lively energy that seemed to promise good things were in store.

It had only seemed like a good place to easily pick a few pockets to her before, but walking with Yang, it felt like a completely different world.

A content sigh escaped her lips, drawing Yang's gaze her way.

"I haven't been here in forever…" she said softly.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask that - why did you leave? I'm not exactly an expert, but it seems like this area would be much more lucrative than where you currently are."

"You're right, but…"

She paused for a second and Yang stopped with her. Turning towards the blonde, she thought about what exactly she wanted to say. Should she tell Yang exactly what had happened? Or just brush by the subject?

"After what happened with your sister, I had to leave," she said, turning away and continuing their slow walk. Again, her trust for the blonde seemed to win against all odds. "It wasn't safe for me to be here anymore - those two thieves were probably looking for me for quite some time."

As the grip around her hand grew a little tighter, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Is it ok - for you to be back now?"

"I think so...it's been quite some time now. Hopefully, they've forgotten I ever existed."

A half truth - there was no way Emerald would ever forget what Blake had done. But she was only here for the one night - it wasn't as if she frequented this area anymore.

"Well that explains why it took me so long to find you," Yang replied with a short chuckle. "I was scouring these neighborhoods for months before I moved on to the outskirts."

"Sorry…"

Yang waved her free hand and turned to give Blake a warm smile.

"Don't be sorry. I've found you now, haven't I?"

She turned away, feeling her face warm once more.

"Yes, you have…" she whispered towards the street.

"So...what's it like? Picking pockets, I mean?" Yang asked, her tone curious - with no shred of distaste for the topic.

"Uh...well...it's really all I know, so I don't know how to compare it with anything else…"

"How many wallets do you get a day?" Yang carried on to the next question, obviously not bothered by Blake's inability to answer the first.

"Depends...I usually set a Lien amount I want to reach for the day and keep working until I reach that. Five or six, maybe."

"Do you keep the wallets?"

"What?" Blake asked in surprise before laughing, "No, I don't keep them - what use would I have for that many wallets?"

"I dunno...some creepy shrine you're building?"

She continued laughing at the image of the monument she could have constructed with all those wallets by now.

"I just drop them in the bushes. I used to put them in the trash, but that was before I met you."

Never before had she spoken to someone about these things. It was weirdly liberating to be able to speak freely - even if she was speaking to a cop. But something about Yang was unthreatening...and Blake felt safe with her.

'Safe' wasn't something she had felt in a long, long time.

"So, if you can take something _out_ of someone's pocket...can you put it back without them noticing?"

She blinked at the random question - she'd never thought of doing that before.

"I...I guess I probably could…" she answered slowly, thinking through the logistics of how that would work. "Honestly, I've never tried it."

Dropping her hand momentarily, Yang ruffled in her pocket before pulling out a 20 Lien note with a grin and pressing the bill into Blake's hands.

"Try to give this to that guy up there. It looks like he's having a rough night."

The girl nodded towards a man walking up ahead of them - or stumbling might have been more accurate. He was wearing a nice suit, but appeared to be in a rough state, emotionally. The bouquet of crushed roses hanging lifelessly by his side seemed to give several clues as to what he might have gone through that evening.

Accepting the challenge, Blake took Yang's hand once again (feeling her confidence in the action build each time). Taking the lead, she picked up their pace while rapidly closing the distance between them and the distraught man.

On their approach, her eyes picked out the best pocket and her fingers flipped the folded bill over again and again in her hand.

She bumped into the man while they were walking past and he dropped the bouquet of flowers to the ground. Instantly dropping Yang's hand, she knelt down in an effort to try to scoop them up.

"I'm sorry about that," she said softly.

"It's alright…" he muttered while gathering the flowers back into his hands, sparing her just one glance - which was more than enough for Blake to see the pain in his eyes. She reached out and touched the shoulder of his jacket, feeling sympathetic for his broken heart. At the same moment, she slipped the bill smoothly into the pocket on the chest of his coat - not where she had originally planned, but it worked out better than expected.

Standing up, she reclaimed Yang's hand and they made their way down the street as if nothing had happened. When the man was no longer near them, Yang turned towards her expectantly.

She wiggled her fingers in front of the girl's face with the smile, causing the girl to laugh merrily.

"Man, we'd make the best anti-thieving team ever!" the girl proclaimed, continuing to grin at 'their' success.

"He was _really_ sad," Blake commented, still feeling pity for the poor man.

"Yeah, I could see that - but on the bright side, he made 20 Lien and got to ogle a pretty girl for a few seconds."

"Ogle?"

"Oh yeah, he was totally checking you out. I got really jealous for a few seconds there - thought about arresting him for some made up reason," the blonde replied sincerely.

"You don't need to worry about him…" she said, feeling more than a little flattered.

"Then what about the host at the restaurant? Should I be worried about him?" Yang asked with a smile.

Blake stared at the girl in confusion.

"And the guy who ordered tacos after us?"

"What are you talking about?" she finally asked.

Yang stopped and looked at her, lilac eyes twinkling in the reflection of the nearest streetlight.

"You really have no idea, do you?" the blonde replied, seeming to be enjoying her knowledge a little more than she should be.

When Blake shook her head 'no,' Yang grinned as if she'd just been given permission tell an enormous secret. She took a step forward and leaned in towards Blake.

"You're absolutely gorgeous," the blonde whispered in her ear before pulling away with a radiant smile. "And everyone sees it."

"I...I don't think you've taken a very good look at yourself recently…" she managed to respond through her furious blush.

Yang's eyes widened and she quickly turned away, raising her hands to both of her cheeks.

"Oh man...I was not expecting you to say that back!"

Blake had to giggle at the girl's reaction, which was adorable in itself. Patting one hand on Yang's shoulder, she suddenly realized that they were near one of her favorite places in the entire city.

"Come on, I want to show you something," she said, grabbing Yang's hand and dragging her in the right direction.

The fire escape was exactly how she remembered it - the ladder to the second story had gone missing years ago, making it impossible to reach the lower platform without somehow jumping up.

Releasing Yang's hand, she took a running start before a short jump allowed her to plant both feet on a narrow ledge a foot off the ground. Using that as her springboard, she uncoiled her legs and propelled herself up to the first landing, arms grabbing ahold of the cold metal and pulling herself up.

With a grin, she turned back towards the blonde still standing in the alley - Yang's mouth hanging open in amazement.

"Think you can make it or should I help pull you up?" she teased, knowing there was no way Yang wouldn't try this on her own.

"Oh hell no," the blonde confirmed for her. Taking a few steps backward, Yang lined herself up before taking off at a sprint. She followed exactly the same path Blake had taken, jumping onto the narrow ledge before flinging herself towards the fire escape.

Yang hit the landing less gracefully than Blake had and wasn't able to find her handholds as quickly. Before the blonde slid backward, Blake leapt forward and grabbed ahold of her wrists, dragging Yang up onto the platform with her.

Huffing modestly from exertion (the blonde was a little more sturdy than she'd thought), she hauled herself back to her feet and dusted off her jeans.

"Hard part done - now just a few hundred steps to go," she said with a smile, pointing towards the staircases climbing upwards.

"I'll probably be able to eat more tacos after this…" Yang joked as they began on the first set of stairs.

Many staircases and taco jokes later, they reached the top of the building. Stepping onto the flat rooftop, she made her way over to the ledge opposite them and stopped. She took a deep breath and observed the scenery around her while waiting for Yang to join her.

"I used to come up here all the time…" she said, not diverting her gaze from the image of Vale below them when she felt Yang appear by her side. "I made a promise to myself that one day I would steal my last wallet - and on that day I'd come up here and throw it from this rooftop."

When she turned towards Yang, she found the girl was staring at her intently - listening to Blake's dream with an open heart and an open mind.

"Well, you're lucky I brought my wallet then."

Yang reached into her pocket and pulled out the same wallet Blake had taken from her years ago. Quickly removing the contents, the blonde waved the empty item in front of Blake's face with a smile.

"Ready to give it the ol' heave ho?"

Hesitantly accepting the item, she traced her fingers fondly over its worn exterior.

Was this it? Was she done? Was that chapter of her life now over?

After tonight, she didn't know if she would be able to go back to picking pockets...and now she didn't have to.

She grinned at Yang, clutching the wallet tightly in her right hand and turning back towards the ledge.

"But as an officer of the law...I need to at least _suggest_ that you try not to hit anyone."

Laughing, she drew her arm back before swinging it forward and letting the wallet go - watching as it flew through the air before disappearing somewhere along its path to the ground below.

Feeling an arm slip around her waist, she leaned into Yang's warm embrace even as butterflies filled her stomach.

For the first time in her life, she had completely forgotten who she was...what she was - she was free to be herself, whoever that may be.

"Why did you search for me, Yang?" she whispered the only question that still hung on the outskirts of her mind.

Yang pulled her even closer, the girl's body heat removing the chill from the cool night breeze on the rooftop.

"Because I knew if I could find you, I could fall in love with you…"

The answer immediately brought tears to her eyes, which she tried to blink away before Yang noticed them.

"I'm lucky you found me…" she whispered back to the girl.

They stayed like that until the chill in the air became a little too unbearable. Rubbing her hands quickly up and down Blake's arms in an attempt to warm her, Yang stepped away and pulled her back towards the fire escape.

"Let's go put these bad boys in the bank!" the blonde suggested as they began their descent, pointing towards her front pocket where the checks were still hidden.

"Well I...don't really have a bank account," she answered, suddenly realizing the small flaw in that plan.

"Oh, then let's open an account for you!" Yang replied easily, determined to stay upbeat.

"I'm pretty sure they're closed this late."

"Tomorrow then! I can go with you, if you'd like."

She'd done things by herself for so long...always depending solely upon her own abilities, but...

"Yeah, I'd really like that."


	5. Chapter 5

True to her word, Yang went with Blake to the bank the very next morning to open an account. And when Blake's last name was flagged for her...heritage...Yang convinced the teller to open an account in both of their names instead.

The blonde had sworn not to touch or even look at the account for the rest of her life, not that Blake would have really minded - there weren't any secrets she had left to hide.

Due to Weiss' extreme generosity, she could now afford to stay in a more comfortable home - something with working heat and maybe a separate bedroom instead of just one combined living area. Yang accompanied Blake on her search for the right place and had been the one who found the perfect little cottage. While she was wary of moving back towards the center of the city, enough time had passed that she was less concerned about what had happened in the past.

It was only after Blake had signed the rental agreement that Yang had disclosed she lived in the house across the street - an arrangement the blonde seemed particularly tickled to have engineered.

She had the chance to meet Ruby and Weiss again under less perilous circumstances. The pair proved to be just as accepting as Yang had turned out to be. Weiss went even further in her kindness - taking one of the research positions at her family's company, making it a remote job, and giving it to Blake - meaning she never had to show her face in an office and risk discrimination for who she was.

Having a real job for the first time in her life, she poured her full effort into it - trying to do the best work possible and never waste the trust Weiss had placed in her. As it turned out, she was quite good at her work too. Spending her days reading and scouring reports for bits of information fit her perfectly.

She and Yang began officially 'dating' in the midst of all this change - although dating might have been too loose of a term. By that point, she was already wholeheartedly committed to the blonde, and knew she would be for the rest of her life.

Eventually, they realized that Blake spent much more time at Yang's place than at her own, and Yang made the rational suggestion that Blake should just move in with her. It would allow them to split the cost of rent each month and save some money.

The proposal made far too much sense to turn down.

Everyday, she thanked whatever force had made her decide to try to steal Yang's wallet - for that small decision had changed her entire life. She now had friends in Ruby and Weiss and the love of her life in Yang - and all three girls accepted her for who she truly was...and who she had been.

Everything was perfect...beyond perfect.

Until it wasn't.

It was hard for her to pin down the exact moment something changed, but it was nearly a year and a half since she and Yang had reconnected. It had nothing to do with Yang or their life together...it had nothing to do with Ruby or Weiss - and everything to do with her.

Someone was stalking her.

Or, at least, that's what it felt like. It got to the point where she couldn't walk out of the house without feeling a set of eyes upon her, trailing her everywhere she went. When she was with Yang, the feeling followed her still. But, try as she might to find the source, she came up empty handed each time.

She couldn't decide if she was just paranoid, or if this was all actually happening. Was she really seeing flashes of green and silver hair everywhere - or just imagining things? And why now, after all this time?

These answers were revealed to her one evening when she was out for her usual walk with Yang. Strolling slowly past the small park near their home, her eyes caught sight of a lone figure standing near one of the park benches. Shrouded in darkness, the woman's aura screamed danger. Blake's mind told her to run before she could be spotted, but it was already too late.

The figure raised one hand and motioned her over.

"H-hey Yang, hang out here for a second, ok?"

She stammered, but managed to keep her voice relatively calm even while her chest swam with turmoil. Yang looked at her curiously, but nodded her head and stayed put on the sidewalk while Blake hastily made her way into the park.

Cinder Fall...standing out in the open, alone.

It wasn't often the woman showed her face in public - she preferred to have her minions do all her dirty work, after all. So if she had personally come to find Blake...well, this wasn't going to be a friendly 'how have you been' conversation.

"What do you want?" she asked gruffly when stopping several paces away - not daring to get within arm's reach of the woman.

"My, what a nice way to say 'hello' to an old friend."

She gritted her teeth but said nothing, waiting for Cinder to continue.

"I'm here because I need you to do something for me."

Blake said nothing again, knowing that Cinder wouldn't appreciate an interruption, but her pulse ratcheted higher at the words.

"You see...when you pulled your 'save the day' stunt, you weren't putting a stop to one of Emerald's little whims...you were actually foiling a mission I personally sent them on."

"What do you -"

"Weiss Schnee," Cinder growled, eyes flashing dangerously as she gave up the appearance of being polite. "Her family owns a building down by the harbor - in it, there's something I very much want to get my hands on, but it's in a vault. The girl carries the access codes with her at all times - I sent Emerald to retrieve those for me, but _you_ got in the way."

Cinder took a deep breath, as if she needed to calm herself.

"But that's ok, because it appears that you have an even better chance of stealing those for me - without anyone ever being the wiser."

"Why would I ever do that?"

She wanted to just walk away - leave the woman standing here and walk away. Back to Yang, back to their life together. This wasn't her life anymore - she owed Cinder nothing. She refused to be dragged back into that world.

But Cinder smiled again, a deadly smile, before her eyes flitted over Blake's shoulder towards where Yang was still standing.

"Pretty girl," the woman said slowly, menacingly, "and a cop too - very noble of her. It _is _a shame though...how often Vale's finest get caught in the crossfire of a battle they never had anything to do with…"

Blake felt blood drain from her face while Cinder smirked at her, the threat on Yang's life still hanging palpably in the air between them.

"You'll get those codes for me - and then you'll be free to do whatever you like with the rest of your pathetic life," the woman spat at her before turning around and walking away, waving one hand in the air as if she and Blake were actually friends.

"I'll be in touch."

She stared at Cinder's back until the woman seemed to disappear amongst the trees - evaporating as if she'd never truly been there, at all. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, her palms drenched with sweat while she was overcome with rage, anger…

Fear.

Taking a deep, shaky breath and letting it out in one whoosh of air, she spun around and trudged back towards Yang - feeling as if her feet had just been dipped in cement.

"Who was that?" Yang asked as soon as she made it back to the sidewalk.

"Just an old friend…" she replied quietly, staring at the ground.

She wanted to hold Yang's hand - the gesture always comforting to her in an inexplicable way - but knew the blonde would instantly notice how incredibly clammy her hands had become. Crossing her arms across her chest, she continued walking down the sidewalk towards their home with Yang falling into place beside her.

"Didn't look too friendly," the girl commented quietly. Her voice was filled with concern, but she still refrained from prying more than that.

Confusion emanated from the blonde while they made their way silently back to the home they shared together. She understood why the girl was confused - Yang had never needed to pry before because Blake had never had an issue with sharing information before.

But could she really tell Yang about this?

It would be one thing if Cinder had asked Blake to steal from somebody, _anybody_, else - but from someone who had been supportive of her when few others had? From Yang's sister-in-law and closest friend?

Cinder was still a mystery to anyone who knew her. No one understood how she'd risen to power so quickly or how she ruled with an iron fist despite never personally getting her hands dirty. But there were rumors...rumors of vicious retaliations against those who had dared cross her - cold-blooded executions of friends and family...the whispers alone were enough to keep anyone from wanting to see if the stories were true.

Even though she didn't know what it was Cinder wanted to steal, she had to imagine it would be very dangerous for the rest of the city if the woman was successful.

On the other hand...Blake didn't believe for a second that the woman's threat had been a bluff. And Cinder had more than enough criminals at her disposal where a simple order would put Yang's life in constant danger.

That couldn't happen...she couldn't put Yang in harm's way. If something happened to her...Blake would never be able to live with herself.

Plodding up the sidewalk to their front door, she let out a sigh.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had no choice but to allow herself to be dragged back into that world.

* * *

It was only a week later when a package arrived in the mail for her.

Opening it up, she found it contained a small device no bigger than her pinky finger. On the front of it were numbers, which seemed to be switching randomly every few minutes. The small note that fell out of the envelope only said 'make sure to leave this behind - you have until 9 tonight.'

After looking over the device for a few seconds, she figured out what it was - it was a replica of the keycodes. She had to take the real one and manage to replace it with the fake one at the same moment, otherwise Weiss would know it was missing and alert the police.

But tonight...how was she supposed to do this by tonight? She didn't even see Weiss everyday.

"Yang," she called out to the other room, sliding the device into her front pocket while folding up the note to be disposed of later. "Do you think we could have dinner with Weiss and Ruby tonight?"

Yang walked into the office, a smile on her face.

"That sounds like a great idea! I'll call them right now." Before leaving, Yang leaned in and gave Blake a kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too," she replied with a smile, dropping it the instant Yang turned away from her.

Guilt was flowing from her in waves, her heart threatening to crack under the pressure.

This entire week she'd been acting strangely, which Yang had immediately picked up on. Of course, the blonde didn't try to work the answer out of Blake...but had been even more loving and attentive than usual - something Blake hadn't even thought to be possible.

It only made her deception feel that much worse.

But she was doing this for Yang's own good…she had to protect her. Just this one more thing, and then she'd finally be done - and wouldn't have to look over her shoulder any longer.

"They said they can meet us in a half hour - is that ok?"

"Sure," she called in response, smiling when Yang stuck her head back through the doorway to grin at her.

"Weiss wouldn't go for street tacos, but I convinced her to pick that fancy place with the tuna you really liked."

"Thank you…" she replied, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist when the blonde walked over to stand in front of her, clearly desiring some physical affection. "You're always looking out for me, you know that?"

"Of course! That's kinda my job. Well, that and supplying you with mad lovin.'"

Blake rolled her eyes but leaned in to give Yang a quick kiss regardless. Tightening her grip around Yang's waist, she rested her face against the girl's chest - deeply inhaling the comforting scent of lotion and shampoo.

"You know...I'd look out for you too, right?" she whispered, feeling her eyes threaten tears while Yang stroked her hair.

"I know - because we're partners!" the blonde replied happily, leaning away from Blake to give her a cheeky smile. "And there's nothing we wouldn't do for each other."

The response gave her enough courage to attempt a weak smile.

"That's right - nothing. I would do absolutely anything for you."

She just hoped Yang would forgive her for it.

* * *

Dinner was a little stiff and uncomfortable for her - a sharp contrast to the laughs and good conversations they usually had. Fortunately, no one else seemed to catch onto how stressed she was feeling while trying to locate where Weiss might be keeping the codes.

The entire dinner she spent eyeing Weiss closely - but try as she might to find any hint of the device, she found none. For all she could tell, Weiss hadn't even brought any money with her to dinner - which made sense because her family owned the place.

As dinner rapidly neared its end and she still didn't know where the codes were, she felt her panic begin to deepen. She supposed that she could just try a random pocket, but she would only have one chance at that…

It wasn't until they stood from the table to make their way outside that Blake realized Cinder had been mistaken.

Weiss wasn't the one who carried the codes...Ruby was.

It made sense because the two were always together. And when Ruby had swung her long red jacket over her shoulders, Blake had seen a small pocket nuzzled in the interior lining. That pocket would be the perfect place to store the device for this evening, she was sure of it.

But how to get to that pocket inconspicuously? Outer pockets were much easier...but gaining access to the inside of someone's jacket was a far more...intimate matter.

"Yang, I wonder if you could pull off a coat like that," she commented casually while they walked out the front door of the restaurant.

"W-what? Of course I could!" the blonde sputtered in disbelief.

"I don't know...it kind of seems like it was custom made for Ruby…" she replied, trying to amplify her disbelief to get the blonde's competitive nature really going.

"It _was_ custom made for her," Weiss cut in proudly before sending a beaming smile towards Ruby.

"I could still totally own that coat," Yang pressed, refusing to let this subject get away from her. "Here, Ruby, let me try it on for a sec."

She flinched when Yang reached past her and Ruby willingly shed the coat and handed it to her sister. Her repulsion with herself grew when Yang slipped the jacket on.

She had just manipulated them...manipulated Yang…

"So, how do I look?"

Stepping closer to Yang, she looked her carefully up and down before giving a small nod of approval.

"Not bad...I think I'll have to take back my comment - and can we have one of these made for you?"

Yang beamed at her, pleased by that answer.

Leaning quickly forward, she captured Yang's lips in a long, loving kiss - at the same time slipping both her hands inside the jacket, running one hand up Yang's side while the other found the hidden pocket. She let out a little sigh of relief when she found the real codes and seamlessly made the switch.

"Heyyy no kissing in my jacket!"

Pulling away, she blushed at Ruby's whine. Pushing both hands up to Yang's shoulders, she helped the girl swing out of the jacket and handed it back to its rightful owner.

"Alright, we'll see you two later?" Yang directed towards Weiss and Ruby, who nodded their heads in unison.

"It was...great to see you," Blake said, suddenly choking up as she was overwhelmed by emotion.

Rushing forward, she wrapped Ruby in a firm hug before doing the same to Weiss. Both girls stared at her when she'd finally released them, curious as to what had just happened.

"Apparently dinner made Blake a little hyper emotional," Yang joked, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and drawing her near. "Thanks for dinner, Weiss. We'll see you soon."

As Yang led them away from the restaurant, she felt her resolve begin to crumble. Tears threatened to leak from her eyes at any second while shame enveloped her.

She felt horrible. Beyond horrible.

They trusted her...all three of them. They'd been the first people to ever accept her into their lives, to treat her as family, and she'd deceived them - betrayed them. But...she couldn't let anything happen to Yang, no matter what.

Hopefully, they could at least understand...

The two of them walked home in silence while Blake tried to regain control of her emotions. It wasn't until they had walked through the front door and removed their jackets that Yang finally spoke.

"Hey Blake...are you ok?"

"Yeah...just tired…" she responded, giving Yang what was most certainly a wavering smile.

"Ah…"

Yang sounded disappointed by her answer, and when she turned her lilac gaze towards her, Blake suddenly understood why.

"I can tell when you're lying, you know…"

Her heart crumbled to pieces when she saw the hurt and pain seeping through Yang's gaze. All she wanted at that moment was to make the girl's hurt go away - hurt she had caused.

Of course Yang could tell when she was lying...why had she been so stupid as to think that she could actually lie to the girl? In the time they'd known each other, Yang had continually proven herself to be far more perceptive than anyone else Blake knew. And yet, she had still tried to lie right to her face.

"Just...can you tell me if I did something wrong? You've been acting kind of weird around me lately...and I just, I don't understand why."

When she saw the unshed tears filling Yang's eyes, she did the only thing she could at that moment - something she should have done a week ago when Cinder had first stepped back into her life.

She burst into tears.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm ready to finish this story up! I'll post the last chapter tomorrow ~ then we'll move to some nice, angsty White Rose :)**

* * *

"Oh god, I did do something, didn't I?" Yang said, rushing forward and wrapping Blake in an enormous hug. "I-I'm really sorry."

The apologies only made her sobs increase while her guilt grew exponentially.

"I'm sorry...please don't cry…"

Yang was sniffling now - the blonde becoming more upset the more inconsolable Blake became.

She didn't deserve this - any of this. She didn't deserve Yang's love, but she'd allowed the blonde to love her anyway. And look where it had gotten her.

The warmth Yang lent to her was so comforting though, as if nothing could possibly harm her when she was encapsulated in these strong arms. If only that were really true...if only Cinder couldn't reach them here…

Allowing herself to completely unravel from the stress of the last week, it was several minutes before she felt her tears begin to fade away. Maybe she had calmed down, or maybe she had no more tears left to cry - she couldn't be sure.

Only when her breathing returned to a steady level did she push away from the blonde, wiping her eyes and taking several more shaky breaths to collect herself.

With Yang watching her intently, she reached into her pocket and withdrew the codes she had just stolen, extending her hand towards Yang so the girl could see.

Yang leaned forward and her eyes instantly widened in surprise when she recognized what Blake was holding.

"What...Blake, how did you get that?"

She looked away, unable to look Yang in the eyes.

"How did you get that?" Yang asked again, voice strained but demanding an answer.

"How do you think…" she whispered, feeling self loathing consume her once again.

As she'd expected, Yang was floored by her admission, jaw falling open in dismay.

"Blake, you can't...what the hell were you thinking! Do you have any idea what those are for?"

Yang stepped forward and reached for the device, but Blake backed away from her - withdrawing her hand and putting the codes back into her pocket.

"I can't - I have to give them to her."

"Who?"

"Cinder."

Blake had left out some names when telling tales of her life as a thief to Yang, but there was one name she'd made sure to mention. And Yang had already known who the lady was - or at least, had heard of the name. Cinder's criminal kingdom hadn't escaped notice of the Vale P.D., after all, and there was an entire team dedicated to trying to track the crime lord down.

"Is that...was that who you met at the park that night?" the blonde asked, aghast at having been so close to a wanted criminal and yet completely oblivious.

Nodding her head, she tried to explain before Yang could become too upset at her.

"When Emerald and Mercury broke into Weiss' building...these were what they were after. Somehow, Cinder found me and realized that I knew Weiss personally now - and could get close to her without any suspicion."

But Yang just shook her head rapidly.

"Those are for Schnee Dust's weapons research locker - do you understand? Whenever they develop a new weapon, it goes into the locker until it can be presented to the _military_."

Ah...so that was what Cinder wanted to get her hands on...cutting edge weapons.

"You can't give her those codes, Blake."

"If I don't do it, your life will be in danger!"

The two of them stared at each other for several seconds, each contemplating the situation.

"I can take care of myself…" Yang said softly.

"You don't understand how many people work for her," Blake said, voice pleading for Yang to listen to her. "Not just thieves either - murderers too."

Yang had to understand...this wasn't just one or two people - this would be _hundreds_ of people gunning for her head, all in an effort to gain a tiny bit of favor in Cinder's eyes.

"Take me out of it, Blake. If Cinder hadn't threatened me, would you do this? Would you put innocent lives at risk?"

God, how she wished she could say yes. How badly she wished that she didn't care about the outcomes, as long as Yang was safe.

"But you're…"

Everything.

"Let me spare a moment to be incredibly flattered by how much I mean to you," Yang replied with a miniscule grin, always able to make light of even the worst situations. "But you can't go through with this."

She was supposed to meet Cinder soon - what was she supposed to do?

"I have to," she said, feeling tears fill her eyes once again.

Yang sighed and shook her head, disappointed and...defeated.

"Fine...if we're going to do this, we're doing it _my_ way," the blonde finally said.

"'We?'"

"Yes, 'we.' We're partners, remember?"

A small smile escaped her, feeling her love for Yang grow by leaps and bounds even though the girl was still obviously upset with the situation.

She wasn't alone any longer...she didn't have to do everything on her own…

Nodding her head and drying her unshed tears, Yang looked satisfied.

"Good - then you're going to give the codes to Cinder and come _right back here_. You got it? I'm going to assemble the entire precinct and we'll be waiting for them."

"A trap."

"Yes, a trap. And with Cinder behind bars, she won't be able to blackmail you again."

"Yang -"

The girl held up one hand to stop her words.

"Don't thank me - we're not out of this just yet," she said before her eyes softened considerably. "I just...wish you'd told me about this right away."

She looked away, ashamed at her decision to hide this from the one person who'd done nothing but support her all this time.

"I know I should have. I was just...afraid…and I didn't know how you would respond."

"When have I ever not been on your side, Blake? I'll _always_ be on your side."

Relief poured through her like warm water, melting the ice in her veins. And when Yang reached forward and pulled her into another hug, she felt all her fear of Yang hating her leave her mind.

"When are you supposed to meet her?"

Glancing at the clock on the hallway wall, she said, "A half an hour."

Yang nodded, chewing her bottom lip with worry while refusing to let go of Blake's hands. When the blonde finally turned back to her, it was with a powerful gaze unlike any she'd ever seen before.

"You give that to her and come right back here. Don't try anything else, you understand?"

"I understand," she replied, able to crack a small, real smile for the first time in what felt like ages.

When Yang dropped her hands, she reached up and pulled the blonde down into a hasty kiss before backing to the front door. For the first time, she felt hope that this could be resolved - that everyone would make it out alive and Cinder would be out of her life for good.


	7. Chapter 7

**There _might_ be a sequel to this...you never know ;) Eventually...lol I'm really glad everyone has enjoyed this - it was really just a little idea that morphed into something a little longer. I could easily have made this so much longer, but I wanted to keep it short so I could continue other stories.**

**Anyway, enough from me. Happy Sunday!**

* * *

Hurrying towards the designated meeting location, her mind was filled with a swarm of conflicting emotions.

They were going to get Cinder...but Yang was going to be put in danger when confronting the woman. The blonde would have lots of skilled backup, but Cinder would most likely try to single the girl out.

When she raced into the narrow alley right at the designated meeting time, she found it to be completely deserted. Hemmed in by tall buildings on either side, there was a dead end on the far side - making the way she had just come the only viable exit. Walking to the exact spot that had been described in the note, she waited patiently. Just when she was beginning to think that Cinder wasn't going to show up at all, she heard shoes crunching on the stones lying upon the ground - making their way towards her.

Turning back, her eyes found Cinder leisurely approaching her.

"I see my faith in you wasn't misplaced," the woman purred after coming to a stop directly in front of her.

She resisted the urge to step backward in fear - instead pulling out the small device from her pocket and tossing it to Cinder. The woman snatched it easily out of the air - the movement fluid and quick as if she'd seen Blake throw it before she'd even decided to.

"They don't even know it's missing," she said, her voice short and crisp, before she took a step towards Cinder to make her exit.

One hand raised in the air was enough to freeze her in place.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I got you what you wanted - now I'm leaving."

Her nerves were beginning to show in the slight tremble of her voice and shake of her hands.

Cinder glared at her, eyes flashing with calculated malice while a leer appeared on her face.

"I can't really let you do that, can I?" the woman replied softly.

"What -"

Before the question even made it out of her mouth, her world was plunged into blackness.

* * *

"Nghhh…"

Her head was throbbing in pain when she finally came to. Keeping her eyes closed, she could still see the stars in her eyes from the blow to the back of her head. Shifting, she was able to determine her new orientation, which was lying on cold, unforgiving asphalt. When she tried to lift her hand up to touch the back of her head, she found that both of her wrists had been bound tightly in front of her.

Trying to ignore the pain, she cracked her eyes open - ears picking up the sound of hushed voices nearby.

She was lying on another street by an unassuming building - the smell of fish and sound of water lapping against a border nearby told her that she was now down by the harbor.

Which meant this must be the building - the one Cinder wanted to break into. They had dragged her along with them...for what purpose, she couldn't figure out with the pounding of her head.

"Good - she's finally awake. Now she can walk herself and I don't have to carry her around."

"Quit being a baby, Mercury."

"I'd like to see _you_ be silent when _you're_ designated pack mule."

"That's the _number 3's_ duty - accept it like the child you are."

"What makes me number 3?"

"Because _I'm_ second in command, obviously."

"Shut up, both of you."

They were standing just out of her range of vision, but all three voices were clearly distinguishable.

A rough hand suddenly grasped her by her upper arm - yanking her unceremoniously to her feet. The rapid return to a standing position sent her head swimming with more stars, turning her stomach precipitously.

Mercury gave her a little shove - forcing her in the direction of a door nearby where Emerald was busy working. Standing calmly by Emerald's side was Cinder, watching the work proceed with a satisfied smile.

"I called your girlfriend," the woman called towards her while the other two continued their assault on the door. "She was...less than thrilled about our new arrangement."

Oh god...Yang.

"You've certainly turned out to be far more useful than expected. First, you bring me the codes...and now the police won't even show up because she's too worried about me killing you."

That's why she was here...she was their hostage. Their insurance policy that would keep Yang from trying to stop them.

"She won't risk innocent lives just for me."

At this point, she couldn't be sure if that was a truth or a lie.

"Really...would that make you feel better - if she sacrificed your life for the lives of others? Or would you prefer that she saved your life at someone else's expense?"

Grinning when Blake couldn't come up with an immediate retort, Cinder turned to her own companions.

"What about you, Emerald? Would you sacrifice Mercury?"

The girl scoffed, not bothering to turn away from the explosives she was wiring to the door as she answered.

"Willingly. Is that actually an option? Because I'd love to sign up."

Cinder laughed, clearly tickled by the answer, while Mercury glared down at his partner.

"I would hand feed Emerald to a baby beowulf without batting an eye," he replied dryly, for which Emerald roughly punched him in the thigh.

"Well...rest assured that if either of you ever fail me, I will allow the other one to do as they wish."

This news somehow seemed to encourage the two criminals, who finally removed their devices from the door and took a few steps backward.

"Might wanna plug your ears," Emerald directed to Blake with a smirk. "Oh, that's right, you can't."

The girl pressed a button on the contraption held in her hands and the entire block suddenly exploded with noise. The sound was exceptionally jarring to Blake's sensitive ears and still throbbing head - leaving her ears ringing and her balance unsteady as her stomach felt queasy once again.

"Well, that was less than quiet…" Cinder mused, looking at the door-sized hole that had just been blasted into the side of the building.

"Don't worry," Emerald said, glancing quickly at her scroll before looking up with a smile. "Torchwick just set fire to an entire city block and Neo is tormenting motorists on the bridge - Vale P.D. will be a little too preoccupied to check on some loud noise."

A smug smile turned up the corners of Cinder's lips before she strode purposefully into the building, stepping carefully through the new pile of rubble lying upon the ground.

Sharp knuckles in the small of her back shoved Blake forward after the mastermind - through the cloud of still settling debris that had once been the sturdy outer wall of the building.

Her vision took a couple seconds to adjust to the darkness inside, but when it did she found herself walking through rows of unpretentious cubicles and lab tables.

Cinder was standing just inside the doorway, waiting for the rest of them to join her.

"Be quiet - try anything funny and it will be the last thing you ever do," the woman threatened before setting off at a brisk pace.

"I hope you do try something," Emerald whispered in her ear, the girl's proximity raising goosebumps along her arms. "She promised me I could be the one to end your miserable life."

The small hiss that passed her lips elicited a laugh from Emerald, who walked ahead after Cinder. She obediently fell into place behind the girl with Mercury bringing up the rear.

Her head was beginning to clear ever so slightly while the ringing gradually faded away. Now fully comprehending the situation she was in, she began fidgeting with her restraints.

The cording looped around her wrists had been pulled cruelly tight - the plastic cutting into her skin the more she tried to wiggle it loose. It would be painful work, but the plastic bindings would eventually stretch if she worked them long enough. Placing her hands down in front of her, she began inconspicuously twisting them back and forth.

Looking around as they walked, she realized that something seemed to be noticeably missing from such an important facility. As if reading her mind, Emerald turned around with a grin.

"Wondering where all the guards are?"

Nodding her head ever so slightly, the girl spun happily back around with a bounce added to her step.

"Mercury and I found out the names of everyone scheduled to work tonight and paid them a little visit."

The girl glanced over her shoulder to make sure her information had had its intended effect on Blake - which was appalled realization.

"Oh, but don't _worry_," Emerald said reassuringly. "We didn't kill _all _of them."

She stared as the girl flounced forward to walk right beside Cinder. She'd thought that Emerald was insane before, but now…

She picked up her pace when Mercury shoved her shoulder - resuming her spot directly behind the two girls leading the way through the dimly lit hallways.

"I heard there's a weapon that can melt someone in three seconds," Mercury commented lightly from behind her.

"_I _heard they were experimenting with something that could turn people into walking Grimm," Emerald added, turning around and sticking her tongue out at the boy.

"You both can pick out a new toy when we get there - until then, shut up," Cinder snapped at them.

Neither Mercury nor Emerald seemed negatively affected by the reprimand, continuing their march while Emerald even hummed a happy tune.

The ease and eagerness with which they discussed death disturbed her greatly - and she had the troubled feeling that even if Cinder's plan was successful, they wouldn't allow her to walk out of here alive. She would probably become the first unfortunate target of Emerald's new 'toy.'

The thought filled her with deep regret - thinking about what Yang would do...when she found out. The blonde would probably go on a reckless crusade to bring Cinder to justice, most likely getting herself killed in the process.

This was all Blake's fault...if only she'd told Yang about Cinder's demand earlier...or had never gotten involved with the blonde, to begin with. Maybe if she hadn't moved back into Cinder's realm, they never would have found her again.

But there was nothing she could do about it now - nothing but try to make it out of here in one piece, for Yang.

The desks were becoming fewer and farther between as they continued their walk - if she had to guess, they must be nearing their destination. When they approached a massive wall made entirely of brushed steel - with a remarkable looking security system installed by the doors, she knew they'd made it.

"They called it Nova..." Cinder said, holding the codes between her fingers while touching one hand lightly to the reinforced metal of the door. "It was created to rid the planet of Grimm once and for all."

The name brought memories to the forefront of Blake's mind - she remembered seeing the name in the newspapers, in articles and stories from times past. When she realized what weapon Cinder was referring to, her eyes widened in horror.

"The gun that shattered the moon?"

The woman smiled - pleased that Blake had been able to figure that out.

"It was decided that the weapon was far too powerful and that it would be destroyed - but it wasn't destroyed. The Schnees stepped in at the last minute and said they would be responsible for its safekeeping. It was moved here, where it was left to be forgotten until a day we might come to have use for it."

"As its very existence was forgotten, the security measures became more and more lax - until it is what you see before you today. Still far greater than anything else in Vale, but still…"

Finished with her story, Cinder turned to the security panel and typed in the numbers on the code generator. When the last number had been entered, the screen turned green with a satisfying beep of success.

Emerald let out a small squeal of pleasure when the steel doors began sliding open before them.

The room beyond was dark - with not a single drop of light hitting it save for what reached through the front doors. Without fear, Cinder stalked inside followed instantly by Emerald. When Blake hesitated, she received another rough shove from behind - Mercury clearly not wanting to miss out on seeing what was in store for them.

Stepping inside, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but they never did. She wouldn't have been able to see any further than the hand in front of her face, had she been able to move her hands freely.

"Is there a light anywhere?" she heard Emerald's voice whine from in front of her.

"Hold on, I've got the torch somewhere…" Mercury mumbled before searching through his bag.

The pitch black was disorienting, but she tried to focus her ears to help her pinpoint where her companions were. Mercury was now a few paces to her right - far enough away that he couldn't reach out and grab her.

Grunting in momentary agony, she wrenched one of her hands through the plastic cording - finally freeing herself. But what now? She couldn't let Cinder walk out of here with that weapon, but she didn't exactly have the fighting capability to take on all three of them.

That's when she caught whiff of it - a scent out of place in this environment subtly wafted to her as if brought by a slight breeze. Turning towards it, she nearly yelped in surprise when she felt someone grasp her arm - but this time nowhere near as harshly as Mercury had done.

"Blake…" a familiar voice whispered into her ear while tugging her backwards. "We have to get out of here."

She was turning to run right when Mercury tossed the torch light onto the floor - the loud clack followed immediately by a vastly powerful light illuminating the entire room.

The entire, _empty_ room.

"What…"

That was the only word Blake picked up before tearing for the door with Ruby whizzing past her and motioning her rapidly towards her. The doors began closing even before she made it to them, giving her just enough space to slip through before they shut with an audible clang.

A loud pounding rocked the wall, which shook momentarily before settling back to silence. She and Ruby backed away as another large force hit the wall - then another, and another.

"Uh...so what now?" Blake whispered, wondering what they could possibly be waiting for.

Ruby cursed under her breath before pulling out her scroll and shouting into it.

"Yang, where the hell are you?"

"Give me - second -"

Blake's heart beat wildly while the assault on the inside of the wall continued. With each subsequent beating, the steel door seemed to be warping outward - threatening to shatter at any second. If only she had Gambol with her right now...then she'd at least stand a fighting chance against the three criminals inside. At least Ruby had Crescent Rose - the abnormally large scythe grasped firmly within the girl's capable hands while they listened to the pounding continue.

Another huge blast and the vault door flew off its hinges, just barely missing Blake and Ruby while it flew past. Billows of smoke rolled through the door as Cinder came stalking out - visibly steaming in rage.

"Blake, I think we need to have a little chat," the woman growled at her, the seams sewn into her dress glowing unnaturally while her eyes caught fire.

Swallowing thickly, she faced her enemy head on - prepared for a fight to the death, which she would invariably lose. She had no weapon other than her semblance, after all, and her shadow clones would be of little use without something to attack with.

But another sound reached her sensitive ears before anyone else took notice. Footsteps - headed quickly towards them.

As Cinder raised her hands in front of her, preparing to send whatever evil she could towards Blake, a massive fireball flew out of nowhere - hurtling towards Cinder an adjacent hall.

Mere inches from enveloping the woman, Cinder turned to the side and threw up her own shield to protect herself. Emerald wasn't so lucky to avoid the stream of ice from wrapping itself thickly around her leg - holding her firmly to the ground and preventing any further movement.

Ruby didn't waste a second in shooting forward, lowering her shoulder and barreling directly into Mercury's ribcage. The boy hit the remaining section of steel wall with a sickening crack before flopping unconsciously to the ground in a heap.

Emerald let out a scream of anger while trying to claw her way out of the ice - which grew thicker by the second. With a flick of her wrist, Weiss landed a smaller patch of ice across the girl's lips - effectively preventing any further outbursts.

With Emerald and Mercury incapacitated, Ruby and Weiss turned their weapons on Cinder - who had watched everything happen with an amused smile on her lips. Glancing from Crescent Rose, to Myrtenaster, to the red eyed blonde stomping towards her, she raised both hands above her head.

"I give up - _well done _Officer Xiao Long."

Hearing the submission didn't prevent Yang from connecting a right hook squarely on Cinder's jaw, knocking the unsuspecting woman to the ground in one blow. The blonde then grabbed the woman's wrists, twisting Cinder's arms behind her back while securing her in a pair of handcuffs.

"Cinder Fall, you're under arrest for breaking and entering, conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity, and royally pissing me off," she said, yanking the woman to her feet once her hands were secured. "Now you're going to a nice, dark place where I never have to see your face again."

Cinder grinned at Yang's words, the side of her face moderately red and swelling from where the blonde's fist had landed. Her menacing eyes never left Blake's - the woman unnervingly unaffected by the sudden change in her fortunes.

Hearing a few more pairs of feet approaching them, she turned and found four more uniformed officers appear nearby. They rushed forward and listened intently to Yang's instructions before grabbing hold of the secured prisoners - one semi-conscious Mercury, one still ice encapsulated Emerald, and one smug Cinder - and dragging them away from the vault.

It was only when Cinder was being led away did Yang turn towards Blake, immediately rushing towards her.

"Yang…" she began to speak, finding her voice to be strained with emotions.

But Yang apparently couldn't find words either, opting instead to wrap Blake up in a firm, welcome hug - nuzzling her face into Blake's hair.

"God I was so worried…"

The blonde then pushed her a short distance away, still maintaining a firm grip upon both her shoulders as if she might disappear at any moment.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Worry creased the girl's beautiful face while she searched Blake for any signs of injury.

"I took a nasty hit to the back of the head…" she replied, hesitantly reaching one hand up to touch the sore area, only to immediately withdraw it with a wince. "But how did you...why is the room empty?"

"I cleared it out!" Ruby remarked proudly, suddenly appearing by Yang's side with Weiss trailing behind her. "Yang called us right after she heard from Cinder and -"

"You moved _everything?_"

"I'm _really_ fast!"

Ruby giggled, her usual carefree attitude continuing to shine through - it was Weiss who leveled her with an icy gaze.

"I'm really sorry…" she said before Weiss could speak - directing her apology more towards the frosty girl than anyone else. "I just...I didn't know what to do and I didn't want anyone to get hurt and -"

She cut off her words when Weiss raised a hand to silence her.

"You know, I'll forgive you this time because you haven't had a real family in a while - but this is what we're here for. Next time, you come to us first."

Tears welled in her eyes at the words, which were some of the nicest she'd ever heard the girl say. With Ruby and Yang nodding their heads in agreement, she could finally smile.

"Absolutely. I promise to come to you guys first," she agreed, receiving their small smiles in return.

A family - the first real family she could remember.

Taking her hand, Yang led her away from the wreckage of the room with Weiss and Ruby following closely behind.

"Are the weapons safe in their new location?" she tentatively asked as they made their way out of the building.

"They're just as secure, if not more so," Weiss responded calmly, her lack of worry on the matter settling Blake's nerves.

"But what about...Nova?"

When she turned around the judge Weiss' reaction, the girl leveled her with the steadiest glare she'd ever received.

"What are you talking about, Blake? Nova was destroyed long ago."

After glancing towards Ruby, who had an equally unemotional mask on her face, she turned to Yang.

"Let's go get some fish tacos to celebrate!" the blonde said, turning and giving Blake a beaming smile when Weiss groaned behind them.

Dropping the subject, she smiled and squeezed Yang's hand tightly.

"Fish tacos sound amazing."


	8. Chapter 8

**Bonus extra chapter! These two are so adorable, I swear...**

* * *

"Hey Blake, can I borrow five Lien? I forgot my wallet at home."

Heaving a pretend sigh of exasperation, she looked over to find her girlfriend smiling sheepishly at her.

"You know, one of these days you won't be able to get by on pretty looks alone," she teased while reaching for her own wallet.

Her brow creased in worry, her hand patting her empty pocket several times before she checked her other pockets.

She could have sworn…

Spinning back to Yang, she found the blonde wiggling the lost item in front of her face - beaming with satisfaction at her success.

She snatched her wallet back from Yang, attempting to feign annoyance with the girl's ballsy feat. But that attempt was short lived - her scowl turning into her own smile of pride.

"That was really good! How long have you had it for?"

"About an hour...I took it when you kissed me back by that restaurant."

She flushed at the memory - her obvious reaction to kissing Yang being to lose all connection with her rational senses. It was a little unnerving to identify a blind spot like that, but, then again, the blind spot only occurred with Yang, so she felt completely secure.

"You'll be better than me before you know it."

"Please," Yang scoffed, taking Blake's hand so they could continue their walk home from the store. "You can get in and out of my pants without even using a kiss as a distraction."

She flushed, taking the comment exactly how Yang intended it to be interpreted.

"So uh...do you want to practice some more combat tonight?" she asked, attempting to change the subject. "I think my wrist is finally better."

Lifting up her right arm, she twisted her hand back and forth as proof.

"And _how_ did you hurt your wrist again?" Yang asked, throwing in a suggestive wink for good measure.

"You twisted my arm behind my back and refused to let go until I stomped on your foot," she answered dryly.

"If you're going to get better at hand-to-hand combat, you've got to be willing to resort to dirty tactics sometimes!" Yang preached.

"I don't see why I can't just use Gambol…" she lamented in return. Using a weapon was much easier than using her hands.

"Because! Like I told you - and I've told Ruby and Weiss a thousand times - sometimes you're caught without your weapon, then what do you do?"

Her rant over, the blonde turned to her with another apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry I hurt you though…"

"You don't need to apologize again - I'm the one who wanted you to be a ruthless teacher."

Yang giggled as they walked up to their front door, dropping Blake's hand while fishing her keys out of her pocket.

"Then after we put these groceries away, let's practice some more," the blonde said before pushing the door open and gesturing for Blake to head in first.

She made her way immediately to the kitchen, setting the plastic bag down on the countertop and removing the first two items to be put away. She heard Yang come into the room behind her with her own bag - the sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing heard soon after.

Her eyes drifted over to the blonde while she made her way to collect the next few items. Yang was concentrating deeply on something within the fridge - brow creased adorably in concentration. Pulling a couple more boxes out of her bag, she turned back towards the cabinets behind her.

If she described her evening to someone, they might think it sounded incredibly...mundane...but simply being with Yang was the exact opposite of that. Every second they spent in the same room together was another moment of pure happiness - exhilarating, exciting, and comforting in a way most people would never understand.

Right on cue, she felt Yang's presence approach her, the blonde's arms wrapping around her waist while a chin rested comfortably on her shoulder.

"Thinking about me?" the blonde whispered, a smile evident in the tone of her voice.

"Potentially…" she responded shyly, feeling a warm blush appear at having been caught.

Yang giggled and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before pulling away - but not before Blake felt something slide into her back pocket. Grinning, she spun around after the girl, pulling the item out of her pocket to prove Yang wasn't as sneaky as she thought she was.

She opened her mouth to say something witty, but froze when she saw what she was holding in her hand.

A diamond ring.

"Blake...are you proposing to me?" Yang asked, eyes wide in surprise while staring at the object Blake was still holding out in front of her in shock.

"Wh - I...b-but you just…

"Oh right," the blonde said with a nervous laugh, grabbing the ring from between Blake's fingers and kneeling down on one knee. "That's what I'm doing."

Her eyes widened when Yang held the ring up in front of her, fingers trembling almost imperceptibly.

"Blake Belladonna - pickpocket extraordinaire - who, for obvious reasons, can't seem to keep her hands out of my pants...will you make me the happiest girl who's ever been mugged? Will you marry me?"

She didn't know whether she should laugh or cry or both at the same time. She felt tears of joy begin to well in her eyes while Yang grinned up at her.

"I-if I say yes, will you finally stop saying that I can't stay out of your pants?"

"Absolutely not," the girl replied with a laugh. "But nice try!"

Playfully rolling her eyes, she burst into laughter.

"Then yes, of course I'll marry y -"

Before she could even finish the sentence, Yang stood and pulled her into a deep kiss - only breaking away after several seconds to quickly slide the ring onto Blake's finger.

"I knew you would say yes," the blonde whispered with a huge smile, still holding Blake close to her.

How could Blake not say yes? They'd been brought together by chance, but woven together by love. The thread that bound them was inseverable - stronger than anything in existence. There was no way she would ever leave Yang's side…

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said, hardly able to contain her overflowing happiness while tugging Yang closer to her, "because you're stuck with me now."

"So would you say I'm in for a lifetime of...pants thievery?" the blonde responded playfully, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Pursing her lips, she tried to hide a smile with little effect.

"Yup, that's exactly what I meant - starting now. This is a stick-up - give me your pants."

Yang burst out laughing and broke away from her, making a mad dash towards their bedroom.

"You're gonna have to catch me first, Blakey!" the blonde called back to her.

She grinned, sparing a second to admire the new piece of jewelry adorning her hand before pursuing her girlfriend.

Sometimes it wasn't such a bad thing - to be caught.


End file.
